Thursday, 7 September 2017

I have had a few days where I have spent time moving a few projects forward. Firstly, the Dear Jane quilt has been pulled out and I have made a big effort to remove all the papers. This is slow. Very slow. I have done over half, but I have now left it out so that I can go and pick at it in odd moments. Once this is done I need to count all the pieces so that I can embroider the total on the corner block.

Then I saw that the September colour for the Rainbow Scrappy Challenge had been released. I know that my progress on this had lapsed, but when I looked back I realised I was 5 months behind. Again, I pulled out my remaining Kim Diehl fabrics and cut enough to keep me quiet for a while. I sewed a few, but some serious machine stitching time is required on this one.

Finally, for a second time, I forgot to enter Suzi into the 2017 Pets on Quilts competition. So please enjoy this photo of her.

Monday, 13 February 2017

Here is Dear Jane block E12 Mary Ruth's Corset. It is a bit of a 'warts and all' photo as I have had to take it stitched into the quilt. To me it appears to highlight the English Paper tacking / basting threads. Below you can see the evidence that the paper is still in.

Dear Jane quilt helper

Suzi and I have reached a compromise regarding my priority of role of main lap provider versus Dear Jane quilt stitcher.

Sunday, 25 December 2016

Christmas is a good time to give you all a little present of a long overdue update on my Dear Jane quilt progress. I am slowly posting the individual blocks on this blog, but it reached a point where I could start to put it together and sitting in front of the telly over the Christmas break is helping me move the whole project on.

Dear Jane Quilt - Christmas 2016 Edition

All these blocks are actually together and it is great to start having just one big piece to haul around, rather than wobbly piles of 4.5" blocks. Have I removed the papers yet? I did remove one line of papers and that showed me that it was not going to be as onerous as the Nearly Insane paper removal (which took 7 whole days!), so it will get done in its own time.

Dear Jane Quilt - Christmas 2016 Edition Electric Quilt

This is how it is looking as its virtual self, in my Electric Quilt software. I still have a load of edge triangles, sashing and cornerstones to baste before I can even sew them together into the quilt, which slows me down at the moment. No statistics either at the moment. Do you notice one edge triangle not done yet? That is Jane's Oak - it has proved troublesome ... Otherwise I am SO pleased to see this quilt come together and I hope to give it a big push over the next week.

Dear Jane Quilt - Christmas 2016 Edition with Suzi the cat

Suzi the cat has taken a break from sitting on the Easy Street quilt to check out the Dear Jane progress, but not much sewing from her so far this Christmas season.Wishing you a Happy Christmas!

Monday, 28 November 2016

So we are off! The 2016 Bonnie Hunter Mystery quilt, En Provence, has started. Suzi the cat loves this time of year. As you can see, this morning she is making the most of last years 'Allietare' Mystery quilt which is currently on my bed.I was away over the weekend at the Knitting and Stitching Show in Harrogate which meant that I didn't access the full details until Sunday. Since then I have cut all my pieces and have sewn about 50% of the four-patches. As I mentioned in my previous post, I am not going scrappy, which was a bit of problem with Part 1 of the En Provence Mystery quilt. However, Bonnie must have been sending me vibes as I had decided to pick up an alternative French General neutral whilst I was at the show, so this has worked out perfectly for her 'two neutral' option.

Part 1 - En Provence, Bonnie Hunter 2016 Mystery Quilt

I will admit that all the preparation required to get going on Part 1 reminded me why I do lots of English paper Piecing by hand. Before I could get going I had to clear some space for cutting. The area around my sewing machine had become a dumping ground, so that had to be cleared as well. I had bought some extra bobbins for my machine at the show, so I wound several of them ready for the next few weeks. I cleaned my machine. I put on my single needle plate. I put in a new needle. After having my machine nearly 8 years I decided to use the table which came with it for the first time which required setting up. Then I decided that I needed to get my 'Leader and Ender' project set up from the start to make the most of my machine sewing.

Part 1 - En Provence, chain piecing

In the 2015 Black Friday sales I picked up an Accuquilt fabric cutter and knew this would be the perfect project to make the most of it. It made quick work of cutting the strips and in my enthusiasm I decided to cut the strips into squares. This was perhaps a step too far as it meant that the time I had saved with my cutting, I lost stitching squares instead of strips. But my squares were very accurately cut .... So far the chain stitching has been very efficient and as a result I haven't made much of a dent into my 'leader and ender' project.Finally, I want to put out a BIG THANK YOU to Bonnie Hunter for her generosity and for taking the time to put this together. When I started to read her instructions for Part 1, I remembered why I enjoy her Mystery Quilt so much. Her instructions are excellent and so thorough that it makes it easy for a quilter at any stage to get a quilt together. Writing a blog every day takes time, so I really appreciate the work she puts into this.I know a lot of my Followers are Mystery Quilt fans, so I look forward to seeing your progress too. Linking up to the Monday Link UP!

Sunday, 30 October 2016

I have been promising an update on the overall progress of my Dear Jane. I indulged myself in an afternoon of stitching Dear Jane blocks together yesterday. So far I have 2.5 lines together and Suzi the cat is monitoring progress closely.

Completed Dear Jane blocks

All the blocks are completed and all but one border block is complete. Also there are several plain triangles and loads and loads of sashing pieces to be done. And did I mention the scalloped border?

Electric Quilt - Dear Jane progress, October 2016

Here is a glimpse of how that all looks in the Electric Quilt software. I am still using Electric Quilt 5.

Thursday, 4 August 2016

This latest Draw has been an odd little set. This is Dear Jane block G5 Poof, which I completed by English Paper Piecing the background square and then adding the applique shape on the top. I clearly fussy cut the centre piece, but the message didn't quite get through to the appliquer. Nevertheless, I quite like the jaunty position.

Suzi the Cat

As I thought, the controversy of the Dear Jane J12 Basket block provided some insightful comments and was an opportunity for you to share your love of Basket blocks. I don't think a Basket block quilt is one which will ever reach the top of my To-Do list.

Also this week you may have seen over at The Objects of Design there has been a MASSIVE fabric giveaway - not without its own controversy. Suzi hopes this photo puts things straight.

Thursday, 9 June 2016

You will be pleased to know that I have finally had some time to prepare some Dear Jane blocks. Suzi the cat has been helping as you can see here, as she shows her love for orange Kim Diehl fabric. It has been warm and sultry here in the UK, so she was more content watching than getting actively involved.

Dear Jane Quilt - Block J6 Granny Weaver

﻿Today's Dear Jane block is J6 Granny Weaver. Again, a chance to do some fussy cut stars in the centre and another easy to piece block.﻿﻿﻿﻿﻿﻿﻿﻿﻿﻿Techniques:English Paper PiecingPieces: 25 pieces

Thursday, 31 December 2015

Happy New Year to everyone. I thought I would take this opportunity to do a progress report on my Dear Jane Quilt. Progress has been a bit slow over the past few weeks, so this is also a little motivational﻿ post for myself.

Dear Jane Quilt Update - December 2015, EQS

Here is the layout of the quilt with the completed blocks in their assigned placing using my Electric Quilt Dear Jane software. The scheduled plan is to get all those white spaces filled up by next December, so I think today I will have a 'Dear Jane' block cutting day.﻿﻿

Dear Jane Quilt Update - December 2015

The Kim Diehl fabrics are really starting to come together now that there are more colours than just orange. A new Kim Diehl range has just been launched, 'Sunday Best' ,and I am very tempted to get them to add to my collection. They are really hard to get hold of in the UK, but you will see that I have managed quite well so far.﻿﻿

Dear Jane Quilt Update - December 2015

You can see that I have done loads more orange blocks than any other colour and I still have 'purple' to do. The triangles have not come up in my regular draws, so I expect there will be a glut of them at some stage in the near future.
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Dear Jane Quilt Update - December 2015

Suzi has enjoyed me being home over the holidays and has got her sewing mojo back. She is a bit more interested in the Allietare Mystery Quilt than Dear Jane and is currently waiting for the next stage to be posted. I have started posting some of the blocks up on a Pinterest page where it is much easier to look at them together, but I will keep posting my progress here.﻿﻿

Tuesday, 8 September 2015

I was back in my comfort zone with this one. Lots of little English Paper Piecing squares, again just half an inch square. Block C12, Family Reunion is a mini Irish Chain block and whenever I do small squares like this it reminds me of my scrappy Irish Chain quilt and makes me think how great it would be to do one with just half inch squares...﻿

Suzi the cat helps out with rotary cutting

﻿You will see from the photo that Suzi the cat is pleased that I am on another marathon sewing project. She has been helping out with the rotary cutting and with only a few blocks done so far she is able to get them all onto the floor with just one swipe of her tail.Techniques: English Paper PiecingPieces: 49

Thursday, 9 July 2015

For the past few months I have been a bit late completing my BOM, but this month The Quilt Room were slightly delayed themselves, only posting the details of the Miniature Block of the Month for July yesterday. Today I have had a bit of time to get it done and it came together quite easily.﻿

Miniature Block of the Month July 2015 - The Quilt Room

I find flying geese blocks quite easy with the foundation method, but it doesn't look as if I have been very generous with the seam allowance at the edges of this one.
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Nearly Insane Quilt borders, with Suzi the cat

Meanwhile, progress is being made on the Nearly Insane Quilt borders. They are all together and I am slowly applying them to the main quilt. This Nearly Insane progress is due to the 2015 Tour de France. I love to relax and stitch, whilst I watch the cyclists work up a sweat in the French countryside. I might be 'nearly insane', but those cyclist have to be 'completely insane' to endure 3 weeks of relentless cycling. As you can see all that effort on their part has completely exhausted Suzi the cat.

Tuesday, 17 March 2015

Here comes another Anna Maria Horner feather. This one is made up from the scraps from my equilateral triangle quilt which I made last April with the Sassy Quilter and is being modelled by Suzi the cat below.
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Equilateral Triangle Quilt with Suzi the cat

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The background fabric is French General for MODA (#13529) which is a lovely natural linen colour. I outlined the feather with stich in the ditch, outlined the shape again and then filled in the background with a free motion meander.

Free Motion Meander quilting bachground

Not only is the feather made up from fabric scraps, but I also used some scraps of wadding for the middle. Having made a few of these, I can tell you that they are quite addictive. I just love how they come out so differently.﻿

Sunday, 8 March 2015

I expect some of you may be wondering what progress I am making with the Nearly Insane quilt. As you can see here, I have had a go at removing the papers. The tiny bits hidden under the seams have required the patience and precision of removing a splinter from a finger, but gradually progress is being made. Suzi the cat knows it is going to be a long job, but is joining me for the long haul.﻿

Suzi the cat offers moral support with the paper removal

Another dilemma that I have been dealing with is the border. The original design has a zig zag border. I don't think it is the most attractive edging, but in the spirit of keeping to the original I intend to put a zig zag border around my Nearly Insane quilt. When I saw the Dear Jane exhibition in France, I noticed how the quilts without the original full scalloped border didn't look quite 'finished', and that has stuck with me. Maybe I will do something different on my next Nearly Insane quilt ...﻿﻿

Nearly Insane Quilt - Solid Red Zig Zag Border

You may have noticed in some of my early 'reveals' that I showed the developing red zig zag border. I had done almost one and half sides by the time the rest of the quilt was together, but when laid against it, it just looked TOO bold.
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Nearly Insane Quilt - Red with White Zig Zag Border

So I started again, using some of my red with white fabrics for the zig zag. Again, I had done nearly a side and it just looked wrong. It looked TOO big.
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Nearly Insane Quilt - Small Red with White Zig Zag Border

﻿So having stitched over two sides of the border I then decided to actually read the instructions in the book and make the zig zag the smaller size that was suggested ....We live. We learn.I think is eligible for Slow Stitching Sunday ...

Saturday, 16 August 2014

The GOOD news:Pets on Quilts voting is OPEN. Voting is open for a week, starting Tuesday 12th August.The BAD news:Suzi and I just didn't make the deadline this year, so you can't vote for her, but here is a picture anyway.More GOOD news:Every Friday is Feline Friday over at Sarah Did It!

Well, earlier this week a package arrived from the USA stacked full of lovely batik fabric, a kitten block, and a note from Tommy himself. Look at those beautiful colours!
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Cat Batik Fabric

Amongst the bundle was this kitten blue and orange batik fabric - how cute is this!﻿

Kitten Quilt Block

My little kitten block is made in Kaffe Fassett fabrics and I have plans of using it as the start of a mini medallion quilt (or rather a mini medallion cat mat). Let's hope the summer holidays allow me some time to get this done sooner rather than later.

Tuesday, 29 April 2014

In her book, Liz Lois admits that she had trouble with this one. It has four small LeMoyne Star blocks in it, and I knew I had also had trouble with these shapes before. However I think experience has paid off as for me, it came together first time, and wasn't too much trouble. Here you can see the completed block resting on some rhubarb leaves!
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Block 44 construction - Nearly Insane Quilt

Whilst I often remind you all that these blocks are just 6" square, it is always hard to get the perspective of the tiny pieces I am working on with my pictures via the internet. Here are the bits and pieces from my travelling sewing bag, which may give you an indication of size.﻿

Nearly Insane Quilt - Cat Assistance

I had the assistance of Suzi the cat when cutting out the pieces. When she does get involved she is keen to get close to the action - usually the rotary cutting blade!﻿

Nearly Insane Quilt - Cat Assistance

Check out this action shot - such is the fast paced world of patchwork and quilting!

Thursday, 10 April 2014

At the weekend I made a trip to Exeter to visit the Spring Quilt Festival at the Westpoint Showground. It's a small show, but when you need a quick quilt fix it is the ideal tonic.

'Delft Floor Tiles' by Alice Webb

This blue quilt was a small hanging by Alice Webb. It caught my eye as it reminded me of my on-point Nearly Insane quilt, and little projects that could emanate from it in the future. I often have a small 3" block in my hand as I construct the full block and think how cute it is.
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'Enchanted Garden' Quilt by Rhianon Taylor

Every time I go to a quilt show, I am usually at a certain stage in my quilting thoughts, and different things appeal to me amongst the exhibits. This time around it was quilting. In terms of quilting on quilts, there was a lovely display of quilts by Rhianon Taylor, also blogging as the Nifty Stitcher.
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Detail - 'Enchanted Garden' Quilt by Rhianon Taylor

Just look at this amazing machine quilting. A full display of her work can bee seen on her blog, and no doubt it will be touring in future Grosvenor Exhibitions coming up throughout the year if you want to see it in the flesh.﻿

'Baby Jane' Quilt by Sheila Lloyd

After my trip to Nantes last year to see the 150th Anniversary display of Dear Jane quilts, it was lovely to see another. Sheila has pretty much stuck to the style and fabrics of the original Dear Jane quilt by Jane Stickle - it looked lovely.

Naturally I made a few purchases at the stalls. I added a few fat quarters to my stash of neutrals from a charity stall, and bought the 'Little Black Dress 2' layer cake by BasicGrey. The Japanese fabric was from a rummage bin - it has a striped design which I though had lot of potential ...﻿﻿

Cat Coaster - Giddy Sprite Designs

Also, whilst I was out and about at the weekend I also picked up this little cat coaster by Giddy Sprite. Suzi the cat seems to have this expression on her face permanently at the moment - the birds outside are driving her to distraction!﻿
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